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In an interview, Nyong'o says that while growing up in Kenya, she associated beauty with the "light skin and long, flowing, straight hair" she had seen on television (and perhaps also in magazines like People, self-styled authority on human aesthetics). She added "subconsciously you start to appreciate those things more than what you possess." Nyong'o says she is excited by the cover and "happy for all the girls who would see me on [it] and feel a little more seen."

So, though we had to patiently wait a few months to know who would take this year's title, we now have a eight months to say Lupita! Lupita! Lupita!